I have always heard about Ninja Storm games but never heard of Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. I think one of the reasons could be that it was released exclusively on Xbox 360 but I was shocked to find out that it was developed by Ubisoft.

The game had a lot of potential, but it also had flaws that kept it from being the perfect Naruto game. One of the main issues is the slow and boring beginning, which consists of tedious fetch quests and tutorials that go on for far too long. The game picks up speed later on, but some players might lose interest by then. Another issue is the lack of depth and variety in some gameplay elements, such as the combat system, which is enjoyable simple and repetitive. Quick time events and button smashing in combat make the combat boring after 2 hours (Although it takes only about 3-4 hours to finish the game). The platforming sections are poorly designed and frustrating at times because of camera movement issues.

The game does have some redeeming qualities, though. The game’s presentation is impressive, with faithful recreations of the original anime’s locations, characters, and music. The game tells the story of the original Naruto anime series through gameplay (similar to Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot) and also uses actual clips from the anime as cutscenes.